


for the love of wrangler jeans

by rebekuhhh



Category: Space Force (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebekuhhh/pseuds/rebekuhhh
Summary: Erin has to find her own way home when Mark leaves her stranded.
Relationships: Erin Naird/Duncan Tabner
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	for the love of wrangler jeans

**Author's Note:**

> my boyfriend and i both decided it was very likely that mark wouldn't realize that he left erin behind until he touched down back at the space force base. and brad and mallory wouldn't let him fly back to get her while in distress.
> 
> also, this is my explanation for how erin got duncan's number, and why mark was perfectly fine with his teenage daughter calling one of his men.

Erin knows her father won't touch his phone while he's flying. Not even now, after he's inexplicably left her stranded outside a women's prison in the middle of fucking nowhere. For a brief second, her next instinct is to call her mother. Her phone is in her hand and she's about to place the outgoing call when her runner's high evaporates. A shaky breath and glance behind her confirms it. The high fences, the guard shack with the unsympathetic guards keeping a wary eye on her, the orange jumpsuits in the distance. Her mother who, while so, so close, couldn't help her.

After a few moments of panic, she takes a few deliberate breaths, and opens her contacts in hopes of finding someone, anyone, to come rescue her.

She calls Angela.

There's a bit of a scuffle on the other end when the phone picks up. Erin can hear pop music before it abruptly shuts off, and the phone getting moved around a lot before the call is put on speaker.

"Hey Erin! What's up? How are you?" Angela asks, voice shaky.

Unable to resist, Erin snarks at her friend. "Why do you sound all out of breath? Did I catch you with a guy?"

"No!" There was a gasp on the other end that was definitely not Angela, and then panicked laughter from Angela herself. "I mean yes-"

"Ew!"

" - but Dr. Kaifang was just dropping me off after my eye exam in Denver! Not like that!"

"Uh huh." There are a few awkward moments of silence. "Fuck!"

"What? Erin, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"My dad left me here! If you can't drive, then you can't help me!"

Another few beats of silence. "He left you somewhere?! Girl, you should have _led_ with that. Where are you?"

"Cheyenne Mountain Penitentiary," Erin mumbled. "Where my mom is."

There was a slow whistle on the other end of the line. "Oh shit. That's like, two hours away, driving."

"Damn it." Erin takes a few steps off the cement path and sits down in the dirt. "I don't know who else to call."

"I might." Erin hears a flurry of keyboard clicks, another a pause, the _whoop_ sound of an incoming text, and more keyboard clicks. She makes a mental note to make fun of Angela later for not turning that sound setting off. At some point. When she wasn't in the middle of saving her ass. "Okay, I got you. Sit tight."

"Who's coming?"

Angela giggled. ". . .Ack-eye."

"What? No! Dude, you heard about the Illuminati incident, right? Seriously? I can _not_ spend two hours in a car with him!"

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers! Tabner's already down in that area, and besides, he and I had a chat about that. Give the guy another chance."

About a half hour later, Erin finally sees a four-door pickup coming down the road. Dusting herself off, she can't help but smile. _Of course Country Boy drives a truck._ To his credit, though, Duncan doesn't have it jacked up insanely high, and it's completely free of obnoxious bumper stickers as far as Erin can tell. She decides to spare him the overcompensation jokes.

She _is_ winding up a crack about the lack of rebel flags, when the passenger door opens from the inside. At the sight of Duncan stretched over the console toward her, the words die in her throat.

He's looking at her with his trademark easy smile. "Miss Naird."

"Duncan." Very much distracted, Erin fumbles for the door handle when she climbs in. She half convinces herself he didn't see when he doesn't comment, but instead starts rooting around behind her seat. He turns back to her with a couple of plastic bottles in hand.

"Water?"

"Please." Sans uniform, bulletproof vest, and Space Force issued ball cap, Erin finds herself enlightened as to the proper figure of the man she's been flirting with. Unscrewing the bottle cap, she's grateful for the distraction the water provides. Anything to hide the new appreciation she's suddenly developed for a well built man in a plain gray t-shirt, work boots and - _fuck_ \- Wrangler jeans. Duncan gives a friendly half wave to the prison guards as they pull away. She downs the whole bottle.

"You were out there for a while, I take it?"

"Sort of. Dad didn't tell me this was a conjugal visit until we got here." Erin shudders. "I went for a run while they were . . . busy."

Duncan gives her a puzzled look. "You didn't know?"

"You _did_?"

"I think everybody did." He shrugged at Erin's horrified look. "Figured that's why they cut us loose early today, since he wasn't around."

"Gross."

They sit for a few minutes before Duncan breaks the silence. "So, you like running?"

"Yeah. I used to run cross-country back in D.C. I think I'm going start up again."

"Huh." Duncan nods. Erin finds that she doesn't much mind the non-answer. For a moment, she's content just watching him drive. Left hand on the steering wheel, he's leaning on his right arm, on the center console. She notices his hair, what little of it he's allowed to grow out, is a little curly. With his ball cap on, she'd never noticed before.

Then she notices his face. Particularly the amused smile that indicates, while he hasn't looked away from the long, empty road ahead of them, he knows Erin's been staring at him.

Embarrassed, Erin starts looking around the cab. Anywhere but at Duncan himself.

"Looking for something?" He gives her a questioning glance.

"I noticed you don't have a gun rack." Erin said loftily. "I thought all you Southern boys had one. Don't they come pre-installed down there?"

"Don't need one." Duncan straightens up to rap his knuckles against the center console. "My 9 mil stays in here."

Erin watches him settle back into position. "I'm surprised. No rifles for you?"

"What for? I don't need them here."

"I don't know. Hunting?"

"Nah."

"Okay then." Erin sat back in her seat. This time, she plays it safe by staring out the window. Which worked well, for the handful of seconds it took for her to survey all of the empty land and the empty road ahead. She turns her attention back to Duncan. "Sooooo. . ."

"Sooo. . .?"

"How about that Denver Airport?"

For a brief second, Duncan drops his chin to his chest and lets out a deep sigh, before looking back at the road. He doesn't say anything, but he gives an embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry, Angela said she straightened that out with you."

"Angela?"

"Ali."

"Ah. The Captain." Duncan rolled his eyes, before looking over at Erin. "Yeah. My cousin, he's in college. He sent me those links after I asked him for some reading recommendations. He likes to pull pranks sometimes."

"Ahhh. Your cousin's a dick."

He gives a head tilt of affirmation. He opens his mouth to say something else, but Erin's stomach growls. Loudly.

"Oh, you're hungry? I have snacks." And Duncan is digging behind her seat again, face squished against her seat so he can still watch the road. When he sits up, he has trail mix and a couple of packets of beef jerky in hand. "You eat meat?"

"Wow. Meal service? I'm impressed." Erin tears open a packet of jerky in response, handing a strip over to Duncan before tearing into her own. "Do you always have this much stuff in your truck?"

"Nah. It was just for the drive today. I came out to visit a buddy at the Air Force base. That's why I was close by."

Erin nodded slowly. "Sorry you had to cut it short for me."

"I don't mind." Duncan smiles that easy, warm smile at her, and Erin finally relaxes.

They're in Erin's neighborhood before she realizes she never gave Duncan directions.

"You really do know where I live? You _are_ a stalker," Erin quips, without menace.

Duncan chuckles. "Being part of your dad's regular security detail, yes, I happen to know where your house is. But I don't usually make it a habit to go cruising around in Officer Country, so you're perfectly safe."

It's getting dark by the time they turn onto Erin's street.

It's an amicable silence in the truck, as they stop in front of the Naird residence. So they both clearly hear, of all people, Dr. Mallory call out from the front porch to welcome Erin home, before disappearing inside.

"I do have the right house?" With his brows crinkled like that, Erin might find Duncan more than a little bit cute.

She grins. "Yeah, you do. I have no idea what that's about."

"Okay, cool. I think."

"Well. . .thanks again for the ride home." Erin opened her door and hopped out.

"No problem."

She's halfway to her front door, when she hears a truck door slam. She turns to find Duncan jogging up to her, holding out a piece of paper.

"My number." He says, when she takes it. He puts his hands up in a sheepish way. "Just in case, you know?"

Erin is suddenly shy again. "Thanks Duncan. Really."

They just smile at each other for a moment.

"Good night, Erin Naird."

"Night, Duncan."

**Author's Note:**

> this was written in one go with minimal editing. feel free to point out any corrections or typos.


End file.
